Intervention
by St.Jack
Summary: Washu calls Ryoko her daughter, yet treats her as an experiment, How much longer can this last ? (Complete)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything related to Tenchi Muyo be it characters, plots or clothing styles. This story is written entirely for my own entertainment and (hopefully) the entertainment of readers  
  
Tenchi Muyo! characters and related plots belong to AIC and PIONEER.  
  
This is the first piece of writing I've done in a long long time, so no doubt it lacks in a lot of areas. I would greatly appreciate any and all criticism/reviews you are willing to give. Your input helps me become a better writer :)  
  
I'd like to say at the outset that Washu is my favourite character in Tenchi Muyo. This is set just after 'Here Comes Jurai Part 2' of the Tenchi Muyo! OVA  
  
There is no bashing in this fic whatsoever, all behaviour is based upon my watching of the OVA, and any OOC behaviour has its reasons which shall be made clear in later chapters.  
  
cheerio, I hope you enjoy this:  
  
"" for dialogue '' for thoughts  
  
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Ryoko sobbed in relief as the metal claws that had restrained her for what had seemed like a dark eternity, released their grip upon her flesh. Her crying continued softly as she drifted downwards towards the floor, oblivious to the picture she presented. The Space Pirate Ryoko weeping in a heap, calling for her mother.  
  
As time passed, Ryoko became aware of her surroundings once more. Above her floated the instrument of her imprisonment. Its emptiness made it seem incomplete as though she were a component part, necessary for its function and purpose.  
  
The laboratory had become dark, making its dimensions impossible to determine, it seemed to Ryoko that she knelt at the bottom of a deep well. She stood slowly, forcing herself upright against the weight of remembered solitude, swayed for a moment, recovered, then made her way haltingly to the wall and leant against it, trying to regain her composure.  
  
Usually her first response would have been that of anger towards her jailer, but memories of her imprisonment in the cave and her treatment under Kagato were too strong, too recent to allow her to break through the feeling of helplessness that enfolded her.  
  
'I need to get out of here' That was her first coherent thought in what seemed like years. She panted as she leant against the wall considering it, then coming to a decision, she pushed herself off from the wall and began to make her way blindly through the darkness, her only guide the cold blinking lights of Washu's machinery.  
  
She didn't know how long she had spent walking, her footsteps echoing hollowly against the metal floor. Long ago she had given up hope of ever seeing light again. Now the only purpose behind her stumbling, halting shuffle was the desire to put her jailing behind her. She travelled to escape her memories, blissful forgetfulness now seemed a pleasant alternative to living in darkness within her mind, she could escape that at least.  
  
A sound intruded upon her efforts, it clashed with the quiet hum of the machines, it seemed too organic, too friendly to belong in this sterile blackness. But she ignored it, just as she had ignored the other sounds that had intruded themselves upon her journey. She had lost count of the amount of times that she had started at the sound of her beloved's voice, only to fail in her efforts to trace its source. This too was an echo of his voice, a desperate creation of her own mind which in its confusion, was seeking solace.  
  
The voice became louder as she travelled, accompanied by a dull thumping. It came as shock to her when a sliver of light appeared growing steadily larger, the voice became louder. 'It was his voice' she realized, then she was blinded by the light streaming in through the door as a figure was outlined against the brightness. 'It's Tenchi !' the thought was jubilant as she began to weep, once again in relief as she fell into the one place in all the Universe where she felt truly safe, crying his name.  
  
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Tenchi sighed as he finished dressing himself after his bath. 'It's time for breakfast Tenchi' he told himself as he tied his belt. It was swiftly becoming apparent to him as time went by that he would have to make a choice. Insurance premiums were rising, and he yesterday he swore he had found a grey hair ! Tenchi chuckled to himself as he closed his door and entered the hallway, 'It always comes back to that' He never could stand to see any of *his* girls hurt, for that was how he considered them all, regardless of how much a certain pair fought over him and no matter how often they indulged in property damage.  
  
He descended the stairs to the ground floor and entered the kitchen. Sasami was already busily preparing for the Hungry Hordes who regularly descended at this time of the day 'or as Ryoko calls it: "This unholy hour of the night"' Tenchi thought to himself as he entered the kitchen. 'and it never seems to bother her either' Tenchi wore a small smile, Sasami also held a special place in his heart, the small girl had willingly taken up the role of cooking for a household of six, three meals a day, seven days a week. She was more grown up than any of them could reasonably expect.  
  
"A penny for your thoughts Tenchi ?" Sasami giggled as Tenchi stood there in shock, realizing that he had been standing in the doorway with a silly grin on his face for longer than was usually deemed normal. "So what marvellous breakfast have you prepared for us this morning, Sasami ?" he adroitly changed the subject with his usual mastery of tact.  
  
Sasami, not falling for this in the slightest decided to let him off the hook, "Today we have the usual rice and miso soup and I've managed to get some mackerel which should go well with the pickled vegetables" Sasami proclaimed with great enthusiasm, while running around the kitchen letting steam out of pots, flipping the aforementioned mackerel, cutting vegetables and protecting the carrots from a hungry Ryo-ohki.  
  
Tenchi, having never really mastered the art of drooling inconspicuously, decided to leave the room at that moment to prevent further embarrassment.  
  
"Tenchi I'm just about done, could you get Washu for breakfast ?" Sasami wasn't going to let him escape so easily. Tenchi sighed and decided that today was going to be one of those days, especially if Washu decided to try and collect her 'Sample' again.  
  
'One of these days I should ask Washu to reverse this door so that I can get that spare broom we had in there, Grandfather is starting to complain about the quality of my sweeping' Tenchi muttered about Washu and SweepaTrons, as he walked over to the door which had formerly lead to the broom closest.  
  
"Good morning Lord Tenchi" Tenchi jumped as he noticed Ayeka on the stairs, "Ah, good morning Princess Ayeka", 'Smooth Tenchi' he thought to himself 'well it doesn't seem to bother her' Ayeka was smiling, content with the knowledge that she had greeted The Light of her life before the Demon Woman had managed to attach herself to him.  
  
Tenchi knocked on the closet door, in a futile attempt to gain Washu's attention without having to enter, and possibly fall prey to her nefarious experiments. "Washu breakfast is ready !" he hollered while beating on the door. It was about that time that he realized he had an audience of three. Ayeka, Sasami and Ryo-ohki in her Humanoid form, were exercising the extraordinary ability to coalesce sweat into enormous basketball sized drops.  
  
Tenchi then decided to be brave and opened the door into Washu's lab. The first thing that he noticed was the extreme darkness, he had never seen Washu's laboratory so dark. Before there had always been a myriad of confusing computer panels, switches and mechanical equipment. Then he noticed a voice, it seemed to be saying something in between sobbing. As the source of the voice grew closer he recognized what it was saying. It was repeating his name as one would a chant: "Tenchi, Tenchi". Tenchi almost stepped back in shock, wondering what monster had escaped from the deepest depths of Washu's laboratory.  
  
It was then that Ryoko stepped into the small pool of light created by the door.  
  
She was a mess, her exquisite eyes normally narrowed into a seductive smolder, were as open as a child's. There were tear streaks running down her cheeks and her voice was hoarse as though she had been screaming all night. The only piece of clothing she wore was a torn tank-top, which forced Tenchi to concentrate on her face,'now was not the time'. She was shivering, he noticed, not with cold but with something else, and her large eyes held the horror of something not yet escaped.  
  
She stopped as she saw him, and fresh tears began to run down her face. "..Are you real...?" she whispered, her voice heavy with trepidation.  
  
"Ryoko what happened to you ?" she visibly started at the sound of his voice and looked at him almost in disbelief.  
  
"..Washu..she.." The tears came quickly, Tenchi stood there in mute incomprehension.  
  
"Tenchi.." she whispered, stumbled and then fell into his arms, weeping.  
  
Tenchi continued stroking Ryokos hair even after she had fallen asleep, He was trying to sort out the events of the morning in his mind. He had been surprised that morning when he had woken up without a greeting from Ryoko, but had been so relieved that he had not thought about what would have kept her from performing what was now an established ritual.  
  
She had clung to him as though he were the only buoy in a storm tossed ocean, the only thing keeping her sane. Even after Ayeka had overcome her shock at Ryoko's appearance and attempted to forcefully remove her, she had held onto him with such strength that he himself had been in danger of injury.  
  
He had carried her over to the couch and lay her out on it with her head in his lap and a blanket to cover her. At first she had buried her face into his legs, staining his trousers with her tears. Words did not seem to reach her but she seemed to take comfort in his presence, so he did the only thing he could and stroked her hair gently until at last she could drift into an exhausted slumber.  
  
'But what could have affected Ryoko so strongly that she would collapse like this ?' he asked himself, 'Washu, she mentioned Washu, what could she have done ? surely she would not have experimented on her own daughter' However Tenchi was not so sure and the thought angered him.  
  
"Tenchi, I'll leave your breakfast in the oven ok ?" Sasami told him, looking into his eyes with concern. He had told the others to go ahead and eat without him, he had decided to look after Ryoko. "Thanks Sasami, I'm sure it will be delicious" he said absently, Sasami being the good girl that she was, began to hustle the rest of the crowd out of the room, while managing to avoid Mihoshi's questions about what had happened before she woke up.  
  
"..uh..Kagato..damn.you.." Ryoko began to tense on the couch as she entered a nightmare, Tenchi stroked her hair and made reassuring noises until she relaxed again. 'To rest she would need a proper bed' he decided, unfortunately Ryoko usually slept up on one of the roof beams where no one could annoy her. 'My bed it is then' he decided then carefully removed her head from his lap. He stood then picked her up in his arms, blushing as he did so, her state of undress affecting him as expected, and began to climb the stairs to his room.  
  
As he shouldered the door open, he cringed at the mess he'd let his room become over the break.'well, it's not like she hasn't seen it before' He placed her on his bed, and drew the bedclothes back over her. Ryoko snuggled deeply into his bed muttered his name then slipped into a deeper more recuperative sleep, Content.  
  
It was then that Tenchi came to his decision,'once I eat my breakfast I'm going to talk to Washu, and find out what happened'. Tenchi noticed Ayeka walking down the hall towards him with a furious expression on her face. Thinking quickly on his feet, Tenchi headed her off and quickly took her downstairs before she could make her displeasure known.  
  
"What is it Ayeka ? " Tenchi's tone indicated that he would brook no nonsense from her. " It's that..that.. woman ! Lord Tenchi, I'm sure that this is all a ploy to get into your bed ! " Ayeka stuttered in incoherent rage, her normally pale complexion flushed with anger.  
  
"Ayeka you may not have noticed this, but *I* am not in the bed with her" Tenchi said sardonically "If it were a plot of hers, I can assure you it has failed, I have done nothing for her that I would not do for the rest of you".  
  
Ayeka stuttered some more before realizing that he was right, and with that came the inconvenient knowledge that she had most likely just hurt her standing with her beloved Lord Tenchi. "Of course..Lord Tenchi, forgive me" with that she bowed, and left the room.  
  
Tenchi sighed, 'sometimes it's more than I can bear' he thought.  
  
Tenchi went and got his breakfast then sat down to think about how to approach Washu.  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Washu, The Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe was typing on her computer when Tenchi entered. She of course, knew that he had entered because a devilishly complicated device she called a Door Crab told her so. When she had told Tenchi the history behind it, he hadn't believed that she annually raked in nearly 28 billion Jurais from the trademarks and patents associated with the invention.  
  
"Pff Earthlings can not possibly understand my greatness !" had been her response at the time, though she had come to realize that this planet Earth, was abundant in such simple brilliant ideas. At the moment she was trying to reproduce the glue that makes post-it notes stick, she had the feeling (and her feelings never failed her, [except for that time with the Universal Deflambrigulator, which had resulted in her being censured by the Galactic Council and having her position as the Headmaster of the Galactic Academy being taken from her]) that she could make a killing on the Galactic market if only she could reproduce this particular chain of chemical bonds.  
  
These then were the particular set of problems that were occupying The Great Washu's mind when Tenchi entered her lab for the second time that day.  
  
"Washu.." Tenchi said uncertainly, wondering how to get her attention, Washu thought he was cute when he was indecisive and decided to give him a break.  
  
"Can you tell Sasami that I won't be at breakfast today, I'm working on my latest and most brilliant invention" 'A little fib can't hurt' she thought. Washu continued typing. After a while, she realized that she had not heard him leave.  
  
She spun around on her cushion and gave him a coquettish look "So how is my little Guinea Pig today, hmm ?" Noting the look of determination on his face, she got off her cushion and waited for what he had to say.  
  
"Washu" he began "Ryoko came out of your lab this morning and she was a horrible mess, why ?" The words were short and clipped, Washu noticed this serious mien immediately.  
  
'look how worried he is about her, congratulations Ryoko you may very well be the winner' Washu thought with an internal grin. "That was nothing more than a little test to see how she functions under certain conditions" She said confidently, "I've done the same many times and she's always been perfectly fine".  
  
Judging by his expression, Washu immediately knew that he had not believed her, she had not seen this look of determination since he had fought Kagato.  
  
"Exactly what conditions are we talking about here Washu ? Usually when Ryoko comes out, she's irritated or angry, never upset, certainly never weeping half naked !" Tenchi was irritated at her evasion, Washu herself was not used to explaining herself to anyone, but for this particular young man she had already made a great many exceptions.  
  
"It was just a sensory deprivation experiment Tenchi, I had to see how Ryoko would hold up under certain conditions" She smiled, confident that he would believe her.  
  
"Sensory deprivation ? How exactly did you achieve this Washu ?" He inquired, still refusing to take her at her word.  
  
Washu herself was irritated now, "I merely turned out all of the lights and went to bed, a simple time-delay lock released her after a few hours". She couldn't tell Tenchi, poor, sweet loveable Tenchi. That her main reason for doing so, was to make a recording of her daughter calling her name, for solace when Ryoko denied her.  
  
"Turned out the lights ?!" Tenchi voiced his disbelief, "Ryoko spent seven hundred years alone in the dark, even today darkness reminds her of that cave, she will do anything Washu, anything to avoid being trapped like that again" Tenchi could not believe what Washu had done, Ryoko was terrified of being alone in the dark, he suspected it was part of the reason why she stayed awake most nights watching him sleep.  
  
"Don't you see ? that's why I had to do it, to test her mental strength and see how she holds up under that kind of pressure" Washu was trying to think of a way to defuse the situation, which seemed more and more likely to explode.  
  
'I'd better head this off before he gets anymore upset', Washu thought, every sophisticated gear in her mind clicking away, looking for a solution. She decided on the tried and true.  
  
Washu sidled up to Tenchi, he watched her warily, and as such he got to see something extraordinary, the precise moment of transition between Washu-chan and Washu-san.  
  
"Tenchi, how about you and I perform a little experiment of our own ? You still owe me that sample" Washu-san looked down at him through a smoldering lidded gaze, a devilish smile upon her ruby red lips. She took his face in both of her hands and for a moment, he was able to see familial resemblance beyond spiky hair, between Ryoko and Washu.  
  
He heard a faint hiss behind him like the release of steam, he spun.  
  
There was a flash of light and Washu stepped backwards in shock, Tenchi had summoned Tenchi-ken to his hand. The remnants of her mecha crashed to the floor as Tenchi returned his gaze to her face.  
  
This was not going how she had planned at all.  
  
Tenchi was furious, she had never seen him like this before, admittedly the only real expressions she had seen him wear since she had arrived were confusion, embarrassment or determination, which was mainly due to the girls' presence in his life. For a moment Washu wondered what type of person Tenchi was when he was relaxed, around what passed for normality on Earth, at any rate, her analytical mind told her, here was trouble.  
  
"Is that all we are to you Washu ?" he shouted "Guinea pigs, for you to perform your experiments on ?" his voice was harsh, grating "Bur your own daughter ?! " His voice was so completely un-tenchi like that Washu could do no more than stutter,  
  
"No..that's not it at all..."  
  
"Then what is it Washu ?, while you stand here trying to collect your 'Sample' your daughter, is sleeping upstairs dreaming of Kagato' He had calmed a little now, his voice was level, disbelief however still lent his voice a tone of outrage.  
  
Washu stepped backwards as if she been dealt a blow, her eyes widened in shock 'How dare he.. ?' Washu's brilliant mind refused to function as an awful reality made itself known to her. "..I am nothing..like HIM.." she whispered vehemently in denial.  
  
Tenchi continued, "I can understand the rest of us perhaps, compared to you we must seem hopelessly primitive, but to treat your only daughter in the same way ? !"  
  
"You don't understand" she whispered.  
  
"What makes it worse, is that you try to force her to call you 'Mother'" Tenchi's voice was a remorseless hammer and chisel, chipping away at barriers that had taken millennia to construct.  
  
Washu couldn't think, her body had assumed a protective stance, her head bowed. Memories surfaced, A blonde haired child, she was reminded of the last time she had been swept by an emotional storm such as this.  
  
She had been unable to function then either.  
  
"You don't understand" she repeated, It had become a mantra, a shield against Truth.  
  
"A mother is someone who cares for and nurtures her child." yet still he continued "They do not leave them alone in the dark all night to see what will happen." he said, driving the final point home with all the finality of a coffin nail.  
  
"You don't understand !" She was weeping now, and forced the phrase through her sobs.  
  
"What is there to understand Washu ?" Tenchi's voice was different, calmer and more sorrowful, yet with a note that pleaded, as though he genuinely wished to know what could make a mother treat her daughter in such a way.  
  
"All of it !" she cried as she collapsed to her knees, weeping.  
  
Tenchi walked slowly over to where Washu knelt and sat beside her on the cold, sterile floor of her Laboratory. He leant over to her and held her, she surrendered completely, bawling in the confines of his arms.  
  
"Then talk to me Washu-chan, help me to understand"  
  
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Once again I'd like to invite you all to leave your critiscism and reviews for me to peruse. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything related to Tenchi Muyo be it characters, plots or clothing styles. This story is written entirely for my own entertainment and (hopefully) the entertainment of readers  
  
Tenchi Muyo! characters and related plots belong to AIC and PIONEER.  
  
I'd like to thank my first 6 reviewers, Yuffie, Hikari no Tabi, Mershu, Poncho D, Red Fox and Starlight The Wanderer for their comments.  
  
It's always very reassuring to have positive feedback when you post a piece of writing on a website for the first time :)  
  
*tips hat*  
  
I would greatly appreciate any and all criticism/reviews you are willing to give. Your input helps me become a better writer :)  
  
"" for dialogue '' for thoughts ** for emphasis  
  
Here is Chapter 2 of Intervention, it's a little less dynamic than the last one, but necessarily so in my book.  
  
I hope you enjoy it.  
  
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It had taken a long time for Washu to calm after their argument. As her crying had slowed she reverted to her child form and fit almost perfectly into Tenchi's arms. 'This is her escape' he realized, 'In this form people respond to her as a child and expect less of her'. Yet the pain in her eyes belied her appearance. No person that young could have experienced the sorrows and trials which now showed in her jade green eyes.  
  
It was an ancient pain, scarred many times over but no less immediate or acute. It called to Tenchi and he responded, just as he would have to the distress of any of *his* girls. It was the principle reason that Ryoko and Ayeka fought each other fervently for him, It was a very rare person indeed who would open his home, house and heart to five complete strangers, then care for them as he would his own sisters.  
  
Washu was quiet now, she stared down at Tenchi's arms, hiding her face from his gaze.  
  
"Why do you do it Washu ?" he asked her softly, Tenchi was determined not to let Washu's current state distract him. The picture of Ryoko reduced to tears, crying his name in distress stood at the forefront of his mind, demanding answers. He knew what had happened, now he must find out why.  
  
Washu slowly lifted her head, her tears had formed tracks which ran down her exquisitely formed cheeks, her eyes were wide, and stared mutely at him. Tenchi almost repeated his question unsure if he had been heard, when she opened her mouth.  
  
"To get closer" she whispered. Tenchi did not understand, it made no sense to him. 'She treated Ryoko as an experiment in order to get closer to her ?' confusion showed on his face as Washu frowned in concentration, it seemed almost as though she couldn't believe it herself.  
  
She elaborated, "It's the only way that I can spend time with her, she avoids me whenever I try talking to her, and she blocks our link" Washu's voice was clear, but still weak. She spoke the words not as a justification for what she had done, rather it seemed as though she was repeating her thoughts to help her own understanding.  
  
Tenchi was a shocked by this, "You know full well that is no excuse Washu" his voice was quiet, yet forceful.  
  
"I know that" the words were spoken with a hint of acerbity which reminded Tenchi of the Scientist Washu. The Washu who followed her interests with fanatical tenacity and constructed machines of bewildering complexity.  
  
The Washu who was so noticeably absent now.  
  
"It seemed logical at the time, If she wouldn't have anything to do with me, I would force her." Washu was obviously upset, though now it was more with herself. How could she have believed that Ryoko would have warmed to her under such ministrations was a mystery to her. What had seemed like an acceptable method of furthering their mother/daughter bond was now a twisted, sick way of spending time with her daughter.  
  
'It's a circle that they're both trapped in' Tenchi realized at last, Washu treats Ryoko as just another guinea pig, Ryoko then refuses to have anything to do with her, which in turn makes Washu try even harder, resulting in nothing but further rejection. 'And it all began when Ryoko refused to acknowledge Washu while we were on The Souja' he thought. In a way they were both responsible for this mess, each had acted without consideration for the other's feelings.  
  
'And it's up to me to sort it out' Tenchi thought wryly.  
  
Washu continued, "I don't understand why she avoids me, shouldn't she want to be part of a family again ?" Washu was distressed, she could not comprehend why Ryoko didn't *want* to be her daughter.  
  
"Washu..." Tenchi began gently, "Ryoko has no memories of you as her mother, from her point of view it must have seemed as though a stranger was making ludicrous claims.  
  
A thought struck Tenchi with the force of a lightning bolt, 'Her appearance...?'. It must have seemed to Ryoko at the time that the notion of a young teenage girl being her mother was absurd. 'And that would have only become worse' he realized. Thinking back to Taro's visit he remembered his conversation with Washu.  
  
"Lineage, social status, why should such things matter so much ? That's how grownups are, If that's so I'd be happier being a child, never ever growing up" Washu had spoken then of her past and Tenchi's heart had gone out to her. Yet once again she had distracted them all by assuming her adult form, and playfully trying to seduce him.  
  
It seemed to him now that she had done so to stop them from realizing something very important. Her child form was nothing more than an escape from the Adult world, her responsibilities as an Adult, a Scientist and ultimately as a Mother. She was running from the legacy that her ex-husband and his family had left her, a legacy of alienation and isolation.  
  
No doubt that was how it seemed to Ryoko, only on a much more personal level.  
  
'Washu's child form must be a slap in the face to Ryoko, contradicting everything Washu has said to her concerning motherhood' Tenchi's thought depressed him, How could he help them both ? Ryoko needed a mother who could help her learn to live again, a comforting, calm presence, whereas Washu needs something similar from her daughter, someone who would help her deal with her past and bring her into the future.  
  
'Ryoko certainly doesn't fit that bill' he thought sadly.  
  
Washu meanwhile had been unable to escape her own thoughts, she clutched at Tenchi bringing him out of his reverie and looked up at him with tear filled eyes.  
  
"What does she want from me Tenchi ?" Her voice was nearly breaking under the strain, tight with anguish, "If I try to be her mother I get rejected outright, being a scientist only pushes her away" She held onto him tightly, "I have nothing else, I don't know of any other path" she almost broke down in tears once more.  
  
Tenchi sat there for a moment desperately trying to think of a solution, 'She is trapped' he thought, 'Any resolution must come from Ryoko, Washu is too dependent on Ryoko for her happiness, It *must* come from Ryoko' The thought was not a welcome one, trying to get Ryoko to talk to Washu now seemed an impossible task, akin to convincing his grandfather to give him a day off training.  
  
But he could see no alternative.  
  
"Washu, You could just ask Ryoko" he said it simply and quietly, hoping that she would recognize the only solution.  
  
She looked up at him in shock, "She'd never talk to me now, I'd consider myself lucky if she stayed on the same planet once this is all over." Washu looked up at him, desperately trying to think of alternatives but she realized as he already had, that it was far too late for anything else.  
  
"What other choices do you have Washu ?" he put the question to her knowing full well that she had none.  
  
While gently smiling at Washu, Tenchi slowly untangled her from his arms, stood, then went to get Ryoko.  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Tenchi quietly shut the door to Washu's laboratory and looked around for the others. Mihoshi slept on the couch, a large bubble expanding and contracting from her nose with her breath. 'She probably overate again' Tenchi smiled fondly at the incredibly attractive young woman, It never failed to amaze him how she could devour so much food in such a short period of time, and still maintain a shape that Ayeka or Ryoko could be jealous of.  
  
His thoughts returned to the task he had set himself, 'Why is it always me ?' he asked himself with a certain wry acceptance. These women, beautiful and powerful all, had travelled distances he could not fully comprehend to stay here with him, and, as it sometimes seemed, to involve him in their problems. He wondered as he often did, what his life would have been like if he had never stolen that key from his Grandfather. Though with the revelation that his Grandfather, Katsuhito was none other than the missing Prince Yosho of Jurai, it was seeming more and more likely that he had been set up from the beginning.  
  
'It wouldn't be anywhere near as exciting, that's for sure' he mused as he started up the stairs to his bedroom, If Ryoko wasn't awake he decided to stay there until she was. This had to be resolved as soon as possible for he doubted if either of them, Ryoko or Washu, would be able to live for much longer with the situation as it was, now that it had all come to a head. All of the anger that had been directed at Washu was gone now, dissipated by the realization that she was suffering at least as much as Ryoko, if not more.  
  
Tenchi reached his door and paused for a moment, looked around, then slid the door open quietly.  
  
He need not have bothered, Ryoko sat on his bed with a faraway look in her golden, cat like eyes. She had obviously cleaned herself up, now she wore her favorite yellow striped dress and her hair was pulled back from her head, lending her face a severity it usually lacked. In her lap sat a quiet Ryo-ohki who dozed as Ryoko petted her absently.  
  
Gone was the frightened child who had greeted Tenchi with tears that morning.  
  
Ryoko looked up at Tenchi as he opened the door, she smiled at him in a way uncharacteristic of her. It was a pure smile, a smile you would show to only those you trusted utterly. Being used to smiles of the more seductive variety from Ryoko, Tenchi was taken aback.  
  
She gently removed Ryo-Ohki from her resting place, who opened one eye and, noticing Tenchi, greeted him with a yawn-like 'Miyah' closed the eye, and went back to sleep. Ryoko stood, the smile had been replaced with a determined look as she walked towards him.  
  
Tenchi was reminded of a hunting cat stalking its prey, ".Ryoko.." he began before she wrapped her arms around him, and laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Tenchi.." she whispered into his ear, her voice timid, "Tenchi, let's disappear, go away, far away from that little witch, the Princess and the rest" She spoke the words dreamily, her imagination had been caught by a passing fancy, an elusive dream.  
  
She held him back at arms length to watch his reaction. It was not the one she had so dearly hoped for.  
  
Tenchi reacted the only way he could have being the person that he was, he stuttered ". What..about... ?" before falling silent and trying to formulate a response.  
  
Because of this, he missed the moment when Ryoko saw the denial in his eyes and her heart broke.  
  
Tenchi had proved his love to her by carrying her out of Washu's Den. She had hoped that with one love denied her, that of a mothers, she could find solace with Tenchi away from the red-headed woman who claimed her parentage.  
  
She spun and stalked back to the bed, no tears streamed down her face this time, she was determined, Tenchi or no Tenchi she could not stay here, where *she* could reach out and touch her at any time.  
  
Ryoko scooped up Ryo-Ohki, who squawked in protest, then hurled her out of the window. Ryo-Ohki assumed her spaceship form, obeying her mistress, then, turning for a last look at the one she was leaving behind, Ryoko phased upwards and out of the house.  
  
Tenchi ran over to the window and watched on in horror as the Spaceship Ryo-Ohki accelerated upwards out of Earth's atmosphere, taking Ryoko further and further away from him.  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Mihoshi blinked wearily as Tenchi shook her awake. His voice knifed through her sleep fogged mind like sunlight through a fog bank, which though bringing her to full awareness, did not engage *all* of her faculties.  
  
She smiled up at him, her blue eyes large in her pretty face, she seemed happy to see him, It was then that Tenchi realized how little time he had actually spent with her, he felt a brief twinge of guilt, realizing, how of all of the girls, she remained an enigma to him.  
  
But right now he needed her help, Yukinojo was the only other spaceship on Earth that could catch Ryo-Ohki and he desperately needed to get Washu and Ryoko talking again. Tenchi ignored the little voice inside him that questioned that resolve, might he not have another motive for wanting Ryoko to return ?  
  
"Mihoshi I need to borrow Yukinojo, Ryoko and I had an argument and she ran away in Ryo-Ohki, we need to get her back" It was not the entire truth, but when one dealt with Mihoshi it was usually a good idea not to add unnecessary complications, she did that well enough on her own.  
  
Mihoshi absorbed this without a word, which was probably due to the fact that she had started to yawn as soon as he woke her. Tenchi looked askance, her gaping maw was enormous. She stared blankly at him for a moment and then, thankfully from Tenchi's point of view, she stood up and retrieved her subspace key from an invisible pocket somewhere on her person without asking any questions.  
  
Mihoshi managed to find the combination on her cube that changed her clothes to a Galaxy Police uniform without too much trouble, though Sasami would likely be unimpressed at the large pile of assorted debris that had accumulated during Mihoshi's troubleshooting.  
  
Mihoshi looked at him, raised her fist and cried in an enthusiastic voice: "Don't Worry Tenchi, We'll catch the horrible Space Pirate Ryoko!" It was obviously meant to inspire confidence, but only served to worry him more.  
  
Tenchi sighed, shook his head then followed her out onto the deck where she once again played with her subspace key. A number of saucepans, food items and pink lingerie later, Yukinojo emerged from a subspace portal where Washu had taken to storing it.  
  
Washu again, Tenchi hoped that she was holding up in her Lab, and that he succeeded in returning Ryoko to Earth. She was falling apart and he didn't know how much longer she'd be able to keep it herself together.  
  
The last thing he needed was a suicidal scientist with a penchant for inventing world obliterating machinery, 'If she decides to go out with a bang, the whole world would probably join her' he thought wryly, yet not without a certain apprehension.  
  
He looked up as Mihoshi tapped him on the shoulder, she smiled at him cheerily, and reassured him "Don't worry Tenchi we'll find her,". Ever the optimist, Mihoshi skipped up Yukinojo's ramp and entered the cockpit.  
  
"Mihoshi unauthorized personnel are not permitted inside the cockpit" Yukinojo's avatar swiveled in distaste as Tenchi entered the cockpit. It somehow managed to exude an aura of resignation, as if it knew that it's constant repetition of rules and regulations was ignored, yet still it continued to remind Mihoshi.  
  
It eyed Tenchi as he sat next to Mihoshi in the co-pilots chair and she prepared to take off. "Oh ! " Mihoshi punctuated her surprise with a little jump, then turned to Tenchi. " Ryo-Ohki is still just outside of the atmosphere in a stationary orbit, I thought you said Ryoko ran away ?" she looked an him inquiringly, her large eyes staring at him inquiringly.  
  
Tenchi was at a loss himself, "Maybe she changed her mind" he spoke the words the placate Mihoshi who nodded, then turned back to the control panel. He did not believe them however, He had seen Ryoko's face as she had looked back at him, her face set in determination, but her eyes had been pleading.  
  
'She won't stay here with Washu, no matter what she feels for me' he thought, his original intent to bring them together now seemed impossible. 'If she'd leave us all just to escape Washu....' his thoughts trailed off.  
  
Yet he had to try.  
  
Yukinojo drew up to Ryo-Ohki but refused to get close. The little robot had shook in what had seemed like horror when Tenchi had requested a smaller distance between them. Apparently it had extensive files on all of the Galaxy's most wanted criminals and what it read in there regarding Ryo-Ohki had frightened the ship.  
  
Tenchi was surprised that Ryoko had taken no action when they had arrived. If she had truly been intent upon escaping he had at least expected her to fire warning shots or to accelerate away form them. But Ryo- Ohki just floated there, powerless it seemed, yet looking no less deadly for it. Washu done a good job when she had built the little cabbit.  
  
"Mihoshi could you open a channel to Ryo-Ohki please ?" Tenchi hoped that he could somehow contrive to get himself onboard, he didn't like his chances of convincing Ryoko to return home while he sat here with Mihoshi.  
  
"Ok Tenchi" Mihoshi was not sure how Tenchi intended to talk Ryoko out of whatever she intended to do, she herself had tried to talk both Ryoko and Ayeka out of many things, but it always seemed to result in injuries. 'Well, if anybody can, it's Tenchi' Mihoshi could be dense, but she was not blind. She knew how much Ryoko cared for Tenchi, and she loved the little family they had built on Earth around him. She was willing to do just about anything to bring it back together again.  
  
A panel appeared above the ship's controls, it showed an image of Ryoko in profile, she was arguing with no-one that Tenchi could see.  
  
"Damn it Ryo-Ohki, I don't care about the others just so long as that little witch doesn't get her hands on us again" her eyes had called lie to her statement about the 'others' but when it came to Washu they had hardened. It seemed that Tenchi had Ryo-Ohki to thank for stalling Ryoko's escape into space. He silently blessed the little cabbit and promised to himself that he'd plant a whole field of carrots as reward.  
  
"Miyah, Miyah" Ryo-Ohki was obviously trying to keep Ryoko from noticing the communication line that she had opened with Yukinojo. As Ryoko turned to walk back to her chair that floated in the center of the room, she spotted the screen out of the corner of her eye, and Tenchi looking on.  
  
"Ryoko.." Tenchi knew he was too late as her eyes narrowed and she closed the channel with a dismissive wave of her hand.  
  
Tenchi sat back heavily in his chair, he was out of options. He now admitted to himself that he had no idea how he was going to get Ryoko to come back home when he had woken Mihoshi and left with her in Yukinojo. Now he was at a loss at what to do. He didn't want to have to go back to the others and tell them that Ryoko had left, the knowledge would probably crush Washu utterly, most likely resulting in her desertion of the family as well.  
  
Tenchi sighed and turned to Mihoshi, she was staring intently at the panel in front of her. ".Tenchi..." she looked at him uncertainly just as Yukinojo started to wail.  
  
"Mihoshi , Mihoshi ! Ryo-Ohki is drifting towards us, at it's current speed, impact is likely within sixteen seconds"  
  
At that moment the comm channel returned to life. It held Ryo-Ohki's furry face, "Miyah, Miyah, Miyahyahyah yah MIYAH" she desperately tried to make herself understood while looking straight at Tenchi.  
  
Tenchi who had no idea what she was trying to say, was about to respond when the screen went blank again.  
  
"Mihoshi, Impact within ten seconds"  
  
Mihoshi began to weep hysterically as Tenchi sat there in shock. 'What had Ryo-Ohki been trying to say ?'  
  
"eight seconds"  
  
Mihoshi clutched at him and cried into his shoulder, he could barely hear his own thoughts over the alarm bells and her crying.  
  
"five seconds"  
  
It finally sank into Tenchi that he was, most likely, going to die up here far from his home, at least he was close to three of his loved ones.  
  
"3 seconds" Yukinojo screeched, it seemed that one of the original designers had given the ship a sense of it's own mortality.  
  
But the only thing Tenchi really regretted was his failure to bring Ryoko and Washu together.  
  
"2 seconds" There was a metal screech as something dragged itself across Yukinojo's Hull, 'Ryo-Ohki most likely' he thought.  
  
"Brace for Impact" Yukinojo sounded morose now, 'Probably regretting it's failure to steer Mihoshi towards a glorious career in the Galaxy Police' Tenchi smiled for the final time, and closed his eyes as the other ship filled Yukinojo's viewscreen.  
  
As it was, his eyes were still closed when a beam of light focused and drew them upwards into the belly of Ryo-Ohki.  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Consciousness was slow to return to Tenchi, in fact it surprised him that it had bothered to return at all, especially considering the circumstances under which it had departed.  
  
It swiftly occurred to him that he was not in fact dead, he came to this conclusion by a process of careful observation. Firstly, he was lying on a cold metallic floor and he thought it extremely unlikely that Heaven of all places would have cold floors. Secondly, His head hurt far too much for him to be dead, assuming that pain ended with death, else he was in for an eternity consisting of one long, painful headache.  
  
He slowly became aware of a voice, the voice was loud, very loud, in fact so loud that it formed a counterpoint tune with the throbbing of his head.  
  
He opened his eyes slowly, He was inside Ryo-Ohki.  
  
He could not remember how he had managed to get onboard, the last thing he remembered was Yukinojo screeching a countdown that stopped around about 'We're screwed kiddies'.  
  
By this time Tenchi had recovered more of his faculties and he shut down the one that had served him well immediately upon awakening, that is the processes that provided his dry, witty sense of humor.  
  
He looked around him, yes, he was onboard Ryo-Ohki, he lay behind the chair facing towards the viewscreens. The owner of the chair stood in front of it, still arguing with her recalcitrant ship.  
  
Tenchi turned around, just as he had surmised a compressed, two dimensional Yukinojo lay just under the floor behind him. Ryoko or, more likely Ryo-Ohki had shrunk them at the moment of impact, though it begged the question why he was not still in there with Mihoshi.  
  
It hit him "Ryo-Ohki wants me to convince Ryoko to come home". In the interval between wakefulness and sleep he had lost sight of the reason he had come up here in the first place.  
  
Tenchi slowly stood regretting every minute that he had spent laying there on the floor. Squared his shoulders then walked towards Ryoko.  
  
She had obviously heard his groaning and turned to face him. She stood straight as he approached, and did not say a word.  
  
Tenchi stopped a few meters from her and faced her squarely, he would have to be careful, lest he push her even further away.  
  
"Why are you leaving Ryoko ?" The question slipped out of him, just when he was considering his words. It seemed to surprise her as much as it had him.  
  
Her face hardened, "I would have thought that would have been obvious" the answer was a snide one. "I can't stand to live with that woman anymore" her tone was cold and flat.  
  
Tenchi struggled with his next words, aware that they could possibly inflame her, "Ryoko that *woman* as you call her, is your mother.." his voice was quiet, but inside Tenchi was tense.  
  
Ryoko almost laughed in his face, "That woman, a mother ? What is a mother Tenchi ? I watched you and Achika together, I know how a mother is supposed to act, Washu is nothing like a mother" she sneered the word mother at the end. Tenchi it seemed, was taking Washu's side again.  
  
Tenchi struggled to answer, she was right and that was what made it so very difficult, He had made the very same point against Washu just that morning. In her shoes, he wasn't sure if he would have reacted differently.  
  
Tenchi had an idea, and the truth would serve to start him off. "But you never gave her a chance Ryoko, now she thinks that the only way to spend time with you, is to performs experiments and tests !" he deliberately made his tone pleading.  
  
Ryoko is shocked, 'He *is* taking her side'  
  
She reacted with anger, "See ! there you go again, always taking somebody else's side" that sounded childish even to her own ears, "Does that excuse her actions ? Was it *Okay* for her to torture me just to spend time in my company ?" she was genuinely upset, awed that Tenchi could take a stand against her in this.  
  
Tenchi tried to mollify her somewhat, "Of course not, but the reason she does so is because she feels that you have left her with no alternative".  
  
Ryoko was indignant, "What was I supposed to do ? I didn't recognize her, and still don't, not as my mother, I have no memories of her" her voice rose slightly, "Not to mention, how would you react if a shrimp like that popped up out of nowhere after a few thousand years and claimed to be your mother ?" Ryoko was trying to convince him that she was right, to win him back to her side.  
  
Little did she realize that he already believed that both of them were to blame.  
  
'I was right' Tenchi thought, 'Washu's appearance'. He spoke earnestly; "I'm not saying that what Washu has done is right", he paused for a moment, 'now I try'. His question came completely out of the blue for Ryoko, "Ryoko do you actually want a mother in your life ?"  
  
She stood there for a moment, thrown off by his apparent change of topic, she tried to bring it back on track "Not if it's a mother who treats me like that".  
  
Tenchi shook his head, "That's not what I asked".  
  
Ryoko decided to consider his question separately from the turmoil inside her. "When I watched you Tenchi, you and Achika, I was struck by how much her love for you showed, whatever you did. Your smallest triumph was a cause of joy for her, and when you were injured she calmed and comforted you, always telling you that she was there, loving you regardless. Every simple, little thing, that you did, she adored" Ryoko paused, her voice had begun to crack, perhaps aware that she was bringing out memories in Tenchi that he would have preferred to keep buried.  
  
Ryoko looked at him earnestly, opened her mouth once, twice, then finally she was able to say hesitantly, "...I.would..like a mother who would treat me like that..." she looked down at the floor, embarrassed.  
  
Tenchi buried his sorrow, now he understood her. "Ryoko, you say that you have no memories of Washu as your mother" he phrased it as a question.  
  
Ryoko, still looking at the floor, nodded "It's true".  
  
Tenchi took a couple of steps towards her, his world seemed to have shrunk to just the two of them. "Then don't you want to start again ? and make a new set of memories with her as your mother ?".  
  
Ryoko's head came up slowly, she looked at him as a thirsty man would at a mirage in the middle of the desert. "But she'll just torture me again" the words were dragged out of her, a perceived Truth she had to share.  
  
Tenchi took some more steps towards her, she was within arms length of her now. He looked directly into her eyes, 'such pretty eyes' he thought. "No Ryoko she won't, I won't let her, never again" he said earnestly. The guarantee had to be made before she would return with him, and he meant every word of it. Never again would he allow any of *his* girls to suffer as Ryoko was now.  
  
Ryoko was staring at him, trying to discover his feelings behind the promise, hoping as always, that he returned the feelings that were a glorious torture for her every single day of her new life.  
  
Tenchi put an arm on either of her shoulders and he looked at her with a sad smile upon his face.  
  
"Will you at least talk to her ? tell her how this treatment makes you feel, how you want her to behave if she wants to be your mother."  
  
She began to shake her head, he continued,  
  
"I can guarantee that she wants to stop this as much as you." he finished and watched her, awaiting a response.  
  
Ryoko stared past his shoulder, considering his words. She didn't like the way she felt now, empty inside. It reminded her too much of her time with Kagato, but Tenchi had promised to protect her, and that filled that emptiness. A little, just enough to make her realize just how empty she was, and how much she wanted to fill that void. 'I have nothing to lose' she thought.  
  
Her eyes returned to Tenchi's face, he put a hand on each of her shoulders, holding her at an arms length.  
  
Silently, slowly, Ryoko nodded.  
  
Tenchi smiled, and drew her into the circle of his arms, smiling. It seemed to him that he was doing that a lot lately, 'It's not a bad habit to get into' he decided.  
  
Ryo-Ohki who had been listening, let out a soft 'Miyah' then set a course for Japan, and Washu.  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Once again I'd like to invite you all to leave your critiscism and reviews for me to peruse. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything related to Tenchi Muyo be it characters, plots or cool organic spiky spaceships. This story is written entirely for my own entertainment and (hopefully) the entertainment of readers  
  
Tenchi Muyo! characters and related plots belong to AIC and PIONEER.  
  
I'd like to thank all of my reviewers, feedback is excellent, it keeps Procrastinatron under my bed where he belongs, and me in front of the computer ( not necessarily writing mind you )  
  
All comments and reviews are welcome, if you don't like it tell me why, so that I can file it away for future consideration.  
  
"" for dialogue '' for thoughts ** for emphasis  
  
Here is Chapter 3 of Intervention, the conclusion, I never meant for it to drag on If I had been less lazy, it probably would have been written as a one shot.  
  
I hope you like it  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Washu threw away the tape in disgust. After Tenchi had gone to get Ryoko, she had started to watch it, perhaps in the futile hope that somehow, she would be able to find some measure of calm in the recorded love of her daughter.  
  
She should have known better.  
  
At the time, she had been happy merely to have her daughter, her little Ryoko, calling out her name for help, content in the knowledge that of all the people in the household, she had called on her *mother* to save her from the horrible blackness. Washu had felt a twinge of guilt at the time as she always had, but buried it under the satisfaction, 'Ryoko wanted her, Washu, to save her' and that had been enough.  
  
Now, after her dispute with Tenchi, she could barely sit through the recording without retching in self-disgust. When Ryoko called for her mother, it brought no comfort to Washu's heart. Her daughter had been doing as any other normal being would have. Calling out for the one who should have been most likely, in all of creation, to protect her child from harm. But instead, had been the cause of it.  
  
Washu shook her head, how she could have possibly believed that this, had been a mother/daughter bonding moment, escaped her still. It had hurt Washu deeply that day on the Souja, when Ryoko had dismissed her. It had become worse after she had come to live on Earth in the Masaki household. Ryoko had eyes only for Tenchi, she had no time for a twenty thousand year old midget of a mother.  
  
And so, she had resorted to viewing Ryoko as nothing more than another of her creations, It had been a ruinous error, for in doing so she had severed from the thread of her future every opportunity for reconciliation.  
  
Washu sincerely believed that there was no hope of any resolution, she had pushed her daughter too far and, unintentionally, further into Tenchi's arms, now Ryoko had no room for anyone else in her life.  
  
Washu's eyes looked lifelessly outwards into her Laboratory, she remembered well the day when she had begun the project. It was to be her greatest work of genius, a feat which no-one among her colleagues at the Galactic Academy could match. Its secondary purpose had been to help her survive emotionally after her husband and child were taken from her. Ryoko was to be her second chance, her redemption, after she had proved herself an inferior mother and wife to Mikamo's family.  
  
All had gone wrong with Kagato, 'Damn him' she thought, He had ruined it all, taken her daughter from her, incased her in crystal so that she could watch, but never touch. The most vicious crime of all, He had removed all traces of her from her daughter's memory.  
  
Kagato had destroyed her second and last chance at happiness, now there was nothing more for her to do but pick up the pieces. It was his fault.  
  
'No,' Her mind would not let her believe that, all that had occurred since her release had been under her control. There had been no reason why she could not have gained eventual acceptance from Ryoko, but that chance had been ruined, her hurt had blinded her, and she had retreated into a Scientific persona.  
  
Washu leant back in her chair and stared upwards into the darkness, thoughts ricocheting around inside her skull. Washu's vast intellect, once a source of endless pride to her, now seemed a loathsome curse. For it allowed her no respite, binding her with a chain of inescapable logic.  
  
'It's all my fault'  
  
She would never have realized it if not for Tenchi. Now, after their discussion, she was a little surprised that he had come down into her laboratory and confronted her. He had never before argued with her, nor even expressed displeasure at anything she had done.  
  
'And I treated him in much the same way as Ryoko' He had only sighed, resigned whenever she had strapped him down for tests, 'I can understand the rest of us perhaps, compared to you we must seem hopelessly primitive' Washu now knew that it was no excuse, she had treated them all as nothing more than animals in cages, existing solely for the purpose of providing her with data.  
  
It had taken outrage at Ryoko's treatment to get him down here, to face her. 'It's always other people, Tenchi cares little for himself' she thought, and he had listened to her reasons calmly, letting her cry them out while he had watched on serenely.  
  
Now he was trying to help bring her and Ryoko together again, Washu shivered, she did not know how she could convince Ryoko to accept her into her life again. All of her plans and ideas failed before two Truths; That it was all her fault and she had no way of appealing against that, secondly, It was, most likely already too late to try anything beyond begging.  
  
Washu's heart filled with apprehension at the thought of the forthcoming meeting. Tenchi's heart was in the right place, but she wondered if she would be able to face her furiously righteous daughter.  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Ryoko stood beside Tenchi as he knocked on the door to Washu's lab. She wondered why she had let him bring her here. A short while ago, Ryoko had been set on escaping Earth, and that horrible woman, but she had been lured back by the promise of a mother. Tenchi had promised her, promised that Washu would never hurt her again, being reminded of it sent a warm glow shooting down her spine, she should have known that she would not have been able to escape her feelings for Tenchi so easily.  
  
The door opened noiselessly, silently inviting Ryoko to enter. Tenchi turned to her, "Ryoko, I'll wait out here, this is for you and Washu to work out".  
  
Ryoko looked at him, eyes wide, wondering if perhaps that promise had been made merely to get her down here.  
  
Tenchi saw it in her eyes, "Ryoko, I spoke to her earlier, she's not going to try anything, she wants this resolved as much as you do" he was looking into her face earnestly, as usual, she found it impossible to resist.  
  
Ryoko nodded doubtfully, then turned to the door. It now seemed a daunting prospect, to re-enter her prison from which she had just recently escaped. But the lure of a potential mother's love pulled at her.  
  
Ryoko stood straight and squared her shoulders, took one last look at her beloved, then strode purposefully into the Lab, burying her apprehension beneath a mask of determination.  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Washu was slow to remove her finger from the key the allowed Ryoko entry, she wondered as she had many times since that morning, whether she was doing the right thing, "I have to, I can't go on like this for much longer" was her thought as she spun around on her cushion, and stood, awaiting Ryoko's entry.  
  
She did not have to wait for long. The Door Crab rattled jarringly into the silence, then the door connecting her lab to the Masaki home opened.  
  
Ryoko entered the room, she stood straight as though steeling herself for an unpleasant task. 'I suppose it is at that' Washu sighed.  
  
Ryoko's eyes focused on Washu, completely ignoring the rest of the world, She stopped, a fair distance from the diminutive scientist who was claiming to be her mother.  
  
They stood like that for a short while, studying each other, wondering who would be the first to speak.  
  
'Tenchi made me come here, that's all, I don't have to say anything, let the little witch explain herself' Ryoko's thoughts seethed with resentment. Recalling the hours spent chained to the wall in darkness.  
  
Washu, noticing that Ryoko's countenance had grown black with resentment, decided to make the first move. 'It is all my fault after all, I've got nothing to lose'.  
  
"Ryoko..." she begun uncertainly, having second thoughts about it all, It had been Tenchi's idea and she had gone along with it because she could see no other way that an outcome could be reached.  
  
Ryoko looked at her darkly, waiting for the excuses.  
  
"Ryoko, I'm sorry" the words came out in a rush, she wasn't sure how they would be taken, but they had to be said, a first step. Towards what she didn't know.  
  
Ryoko's eyes widened slightly, she had not expected this from the usually proud scientist, she raised an eyebrow.  
  
Washu was thrown off by this cavalier reaction to her apology, she tried again, "I am, for all of it" earnestly looking towards her daughter, her large eyes pleading for acceptance, that she knew most likely, she did not deserve.  
  
Ryoko felt the warmth of anger rising within her, and it showed on her face, "Do you think that makes it ok Washu ?" her golden eyes were flaring, her colour rising.  
  
Washu leant forward, she had expected this, "Of course I don't Ryoko" she looked up at Ryoko, tempted for a moment to assume her Adult form, but decided against it, she didn't know how Ryoko would react. She went on, "I've been over this again and again in my own mind, It *was* wrong for me to tie you up there". Her voice was firm, showing that she mean it.  
  
Ryoko had not been expecting such a definitive answer, she was a little mollified by it. ""Then why do you do it ?" she asked quietly, looking down at the twenty thousand year old child. Wondering what her response would be.  
  
Washu faltered, this was where all of her reasoning fell flat on its face. She had no real acceptable answer to that question, and she had been hoping, that it would not be asked, a futile hope. ".I...I don't know Ryoko" The words came out haltingly, reluctantly. They were likely to inflame Ryoko further.  
  
She was right.  
  
"What do you mean you don't know ? you mean I was tied up there, all night, on a whim !?" Her voice rose indignantly. The thought that she might have endured all of that for nothing more than caprice was unbearable.  
  
The target for her ire looked down at the floor, unable to face her, looking like nothing more than a lost, lonely child. But Ryoko was not fooled.  
  
".All I know is...that I thought..maybe, maybe that..seeing as it was the only way we could be together...." Washu trailed off, still looking at the floor, not knowing how to voice the way that she had felt at the time.  
  
Ryoko stared at her in disbelief, her mouth open, Washu's head came up to watch her. Ryoko's jaw worked as she tried to voice her skepticism.  
  
Washu jumped in quickly, "I know, I know" she shook her head "I don't know what I was thinking but..It was all you left me with..." she looked at Ryoko pleadingly, hoping that she would understand.  
  
"What the hell kind of an excuse is that ? 'All I left you with' Are you saying it's my fault ?!" Ryoko's colour was high and her voice was loud, she was swiftly filling with an indignant rage that would render this meeting a waste of time.  
  
Washu held both hands out in front of herself, trying to stave off the verbal barrage. "No, I'm not justifying what I did" she spoke quickly, "It's just that I felt you had left me with no alternative". She watched Ryoko carefully.  
  
Ryoko slowed a little, "Why didn't you just leave me alone ? That's an alternative" Ryoko was confused, this was something she could not understand. She didn't want Washu enacting her parody of motherhood in her life, so why couldn't she just accept that and walk away ?.  
  
Washu stood straight, and looked straight into Ryoko's eyes, determined. "That is not a choice I could make, Ryoko, I'm your mother, I want to be near you" Each word was clipped and shot out of her mouth, Clearly, it was not an option for her.  
  
Ryoko looked straight back at her " How can you say that ? You're not my mother" she spoke disdainfully  
  
Washu reeled back, her eyes wide, mouth open.  
  
"My mother wouldn't string me up and poke me with instruments, my mother wouldn't try so steal the man I love" At last she spoke the words, She thought of all of the times she had been with her Tenchi, all of the times when they had been together, alone. All of the times when Washu had interrupted them with some trivial errand, an experiment, anything. Her Adult form, how she used it to fluster him, attempting to seduce him, never acknowledging the pain it brought her daughter, Washu was selfishly willing to be a woman for the purposes of seduction, but never for motherhood.  
  
Ryoko looked down at the deceptively childlike form Washu wore, her ears laid back, eyes boring into Washu.  
  
Washu stepped back under her gaze, thinking in shock, 'I was never serious with Tenchi, doesn't she realize that ?'  
  
She spoke through her daze, "What do you want from me Ryoko ?"  
  
"I want you out of my life, damn it ! "  
  
Washu was crushed, She had suspected that it was too late, but to have the sentence pronounced so flatly, injured her almost mortally inside. Never again would she be able to dream, to hope for a family again. Truly had she destroyed her own last chance at happiness, with help from Kagato.  
  
She had nothing left, to devote her entire future life to Science *again* now seemed a horrifying prospect.  
  
She fell to her knees, almost crying.  
  
"What about me ?! You're all that I have left, please Ryoko, what can I do ? " Washu was practically begging for forgiveness now, she couldn't stand to see this person, her only link to her past rejecting her so completely.  
  
Ryoko stood there in shock, She was aghast at seeing the once proud "Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe" laid so low.  
  
Ryoko relented a little in her own mind, Washu seemed to be suffering more than she knew. Ryoko loathed the method by which Washu tried to be her mother, her fury with the woman grew from that source. 'If the cause could be changed..' Ryoko would have done anything for a mother, a True mother 'Like Achika' she thought, including giving this woman a second chance.  
  
Washu was looking at her pleadingly as she thought, and came to her decision.  
  
Ryoko remembered what she had told Tenchi, "My mother would support me in what I want to do, would leave me alone when I want to be left alone, and wouldn't touch me without permission !" Ryoko's eyes had been looking past Washu, caught in her own world then she looked down sharply at the Scientist, awaiting her response.  
  
Washu looked down at her hands, she had not realized that she had been clutching them tightly, perhaps in despair at the thought of so total a rejection. She considered then, what Ryoko had said, she had no choices left to make and was grateful that she had been given a path at all. She knelt there before Ryoko for a time, her eyes large and lost.  
  
Ryoko had been watching Washu carefully, there would be only once chance she decided, she had put Ryoko through too much. Her anger began to rise, as Washu continued to think it over, 'How dare she ?, doesn't she realize how hard this is for me ? ' Washu looked up and opened her mouth, just in time to see Ryoko's face transform into a visage of anger.  
  
Washu was filled with horror '.No...'  
  
"Ryoko..." she began urgently, hoping to stave off what was coming.  
  
Ryoko's eyes were hard, showing a steely determination, and she said in voice as harsh and cold as the deepest depths of space, 'And she wouldn't hide from me in the body of a twelve year old child'. She turned and stalked away, inwardly saddened that once again she had been disappointed.  
  
'Tenchi was, and is, all that I have, I should never have forgotten that' The thought dripped coldly over her swiftly diminishing anger as she left the Laboratory.  
  
Washu watched in mute appeal, hand outstretched. The hope that had been so astonishingly offered to her, drifted away, a deceptively bright mote on a wintry, frigid breeze.  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Tenchi had been sitting on the couch when Ryoko had exited Washu's Laboratory. He stood to ask her what had happened when she phased upwards, 'most likely up onto the roof', he surmised. He had managed to get a look at her face however. Her steely eyes and hard face pointed to a conclusion that was not the one that he had hoped for.  
  
Tenchi sighed, while she had been in there, he had been mulling things over in his mind, things that Washu had said, today and in the past. It was obvious to him that she was in a great deal of pain and anguish over what had occurred. And now, he thought he knew why.  
  
He stood, and walked over to the door, the door through which he had already walked more times today, than he ever had before. 'Consentingly anyway' he thought wryly, "Well, I guess I'd better go and see what I can do now" he smiled to himself, wondering what the girls would do without him.  
  
Washu was sitting on the floor again when Tenchi entered, her legs crossed beneath her awkwardly, she did not acknowledge his existence.  
  
Tenchi stood there in the doorway for a little while, then, realizing what state she was in, walked over to her, and picked her. She was light in his arms and smelt oddly of cinnamon. He walked over to the floating cushion, and sat down, holding her for the second time that day until she was prepared to talk.  
  
"What happened Washu ?" he finally asked her, looking down into her hair.  
  
".I thought..." she began, quietly, almost murmuring, "I thought she had given me a chance..." she paused, then let out a long sigh, "but I was too slow".  
  
"Oh, Washu..." Tenchi sighed the words, his mouth tightening and waited for her to continue.  
  
".I almost had it.." another pause, "but she said, she said I was hiding from her" her voice broke, "in this, body".  
  
Tenchi looked blindly out over her head. His suspicions had been correct then, It was time to see if he could make her realize what he had, while waiting for her and Ryoko to finish.  
  
"I don't think she's all that you're hiding from Washu" Once again he, Tenchi was the one to help them understand themselves, It was almost enough to give a man an ego.  
  
Washu's head slowly swiveled around, until she was looking up at him, she gave him a blank look.  
  
'Here goes' he thought, "Why do you stay down here Washu, all alone ?" She shook her head in incomprehension, not knowing what he was getting at.  
  
"Why do you stay down here by yourself ? we only ever see you at meals or when there's an emergency" He was asking her questions, to make her think.  
  
"I.. it's my work..." she said quietly, He shook his head gently, she did not understand yet.  
  
Tenchi decided to use a much more powerful example, "Washu, How did you survive all this time after your husband and child were taken from you ?" He felt guilty bringing it up, but it had to help.  
  
Memories overtook Washu, A tanned, blonde man holding a child, walking away from her, "I..I immersed myself in my work" she shook her head, wondering what relevance this had, "I guess I ran" she finished lamely.  
  
Tenchi confused her again, by switching topics. "Why did you treat Ryoko like you did ?"  
  
"I longed for a daughter , a child again, to take the pain away" Washu swallowed, remembering her reasons for creating Ryoko, she wondered if she was destined to always be abandoned by her offspring. "but I was too scared, at the prospect of rejection..I.." her voice cut off, she realized where that fear had come from.  
  
"I guess I couldn't stand the responsibility, I didn't want it to all happen again" Washu looked up at Tenchi, through a haze of pinkish-red hair.  
  
"Washu how did you feel about your husbands family ?" Tenchi asked, very aware that he was approaching a topic at the heart of her troubles.  
  
"Mikamo's family" she corrected him softly.  
  
"Mikamo's family" he repeated in agreement.  
  
"I was so angry, they made me feel as though I wasn't good enough, for their son, that I had failed somehow" Washu looked up at him as if to plead for him to take her side, to tell her that she was right in being angry. A reassurance she desperately needed.  
  
Tenchi spoke quietly, "had you ?".  
  
"No, but they took them both from me, I, I, didn't want to feel that pain again and...they made me feel as though I didn't deserve their son, didn't deserve his love." Washu looked down a her hands, clasped in her lap, she refused to give into the painful memories, she had lived for this long without surrendering, she would continue.  
  
Tenchi took her face in one of his hands and brought her head around to look him directly in the eyes. His face wore a gentle smile when he said, "Washu, It's not too late you know, we're still here, we think you're worth it" Washu's eyes filled with tears at those words, she wondered at this seemingly ordinary human being, who had done so much for her in the past day.  
  
".But..Ryoko.." she managed to get out, that situation once again rearing it's ugly head.  
  
Tenchi interrupted her before she could continue, "She wants a Mother as much, if not more than you want a daughter, If you showed her that you were willing, I strongly believe that she'd welcome you".  
  
"Tenchi I.. " she sighed, "I can't.."  
  
"Washu" Tenchi began firmly, "Some time after my mother died, Grandfather told me this; As children, we can only feel and experience our pain, we cannot understand it. Growing into adults allows us to do just that, to grow, to learn from and understand our pain".  
  
Tenchi took a deep breath.  
  
"I'm still young but....but I would prefer to use my pain rather than let it injure me" He smiled sadly, staring off into the distance "there isn't a day that goes by where I do not think of my mother" His eyes returned to Washu's face suddenly, and his voice became earnest, "but instead of feeling that loss anew, I can cherish and be grateful for the time i *did* have with her", he looked into her eyes intently, "Do you understand Washu ?"  
  
She looked up at him and slowly nodded, lost in thought.  
  
The absurdity of the situation suddenly hit Tenchi, here he was a young man barely seventeen years old, from a backwater planet in the far corner of the Galaxy. And he was lecturing a person who was probably the oldest woman alive, who had seen things his imagination could not possibly fathom. He was lecturing *her* on life.  
  
Hiding his small smile he hugged Washu, trying to impart some small amount of comfort before he left her to make her decision. Her eyes widened as he started to untangle himself, she clutched at him desperately.  
  
"But Tenchi, it's been... so long"  
  
He smiled down at her gently, "Remember Washu, just show her that you want to be with her, she'll let you try again"  
  
Tenchi turned and walked over to the door, He had put his hand on door knob when he paused, and turned around.  
  
"Washu ?" he said looking at her, She looked up from her lap, with an enquiring look on her face.  
  
"Whatever you decide, don't let them win" he told her.  
  
He stood there until she nodded in agreement, then turned and left the Laboratory.  
  
/**********************************************************************\  
  
Sasami had prepared a late dinner, she didn't know exactly what had happened with Washu, Ryoko and Tenchi today, so she thought it best that they all ate together, to show a united front. Nobuyuki was ecstatic at the thought of being able to devour Sasami's marvellous cooking, rather than the late night cup ramen he had become accustomed to. And Yosho had bowed and thanked her for the invitation, saying that he would be there.  
  
She had Ayeka and Mihoshi move the table out onto the deck where they could eat in the cool. Summer was well and truly upon the Masaki Household, and any and all options to reduce the heat were taken. 'plus it would be nice to sit out under the stars' the little blue haired girl thought.  
  
She had seen Ryoko leave Washu's lab and phase upwards through the ceiling, she hadn't looked happy and Tenchi had entered after her. She hoped that he would be able to sort it all out, Tenchi was the best at that sort of thing.  
  
When he had come out again and sat down heavily on the couch next to a snoozing Mihoshi. Sasami had offered him an cool drink, which he accepted gratefully with a cheerful "Thank's Sasami" his words and tone belied his face however. He looked tired, yet hopeful.  
  
Sasami began to gather up the family for the meal, Yosho and Nobuyuki were first at the table, Yosho looking as calm and as unruffled as ever, Nobuyuki, as though he was planning to corner Tenchi about his choice. Mihoshi stumbled out as soon as the smell penetrated her dreams and Ayeka calmly walked down from upstairs, dressed well for a meal with her precious Lord Tenchi.  
  
Sasami headed up to the roof to get Ryoko, who she found staring up at the stars. "Ryoko, dinner is ready" Ryoko started at Sasami's voice and looked around, "I'll be there soon". She looked depressed again, Sasami hoped that she hadn't been drinking, Ayeka did take it so personally when Ryoko came to meals drunk.  
  
She collected Tenchi and Ryo-Ohki on the way down and Ryoko joined them then. With a cheerful ( in most cases ) Itadakimasu ! they began to eat. Sasami was somewhat put out at Washu's absence, though she had known it was unlikely the diminutive scientist would deign to show herself.  
  
"Ryoko" Ayeka was using that sickeningly sweet voice that Sasami had dubbed 'The Princess' " Don't you think it unwise to drink so much before a meal ? surely it would affect your taste, not to mention enjoyment" It was a comparatively nice thing to say, coming from Ayeka, Sasami was surprised, she loved her sister very much, but sometimes found her a a little....hard to bear.  
  
Ryoko grunted in reply.  
  
"Ryoko" Ayeka tried again, "I suppose this morning when you were sleeping in my Lord Tenchi's bed, you were merely experiencing something you could never hope to have? " Ayeka chortled at her own wit, Tenchi and Sasami rolled their eyes, while Nobuyuki and Yosho studiously ignored her and Ryo-Ohki ate her carrots cheerfully.  
  
Ryoko grunted.  
  
"Ryoko" Ayeka began. "Oh Ayeka, leave poor Ryoko alone, she's had a very rough day, flying into space and all" Mihoshi babbled at Ayeka, distracting her from her current target. "What do you mean Mihoshi ?"  
  
"Well you see, Ryoko decided to run away so Tenchi and I went to rescue her in Yukinojo, but Yukinojo didn't want to so...." Everyone else at the table tuned out the two of them and continued to eat.  
  
Ryoko's head came up at the same time that Tenchi's eyes moved to the door. Sasami absently wondered what it was, content in the knowledge that her family could handle anything bad.  
  
Washu stepped out onto the deck in her Adult form. She was wearing a light blue summer dress, embroidered with tiny red crabs, her hair was pulled back from her face, she seemed uncertain of her welcome.  
  
Sasami took a quick glance around the table noting everyone's reactions. Ayeka and Mihoshi had yet to notice her entrance, Yosho was handling the situation with his usual aplomb while Nobuyuki, who had never seen Washu like this before could only gape. The two more interesting reactions were from Tenchi and Ryoko, He had an expectant look on his face, whereas Ryoko's held a flat, unfriendly stare.  
  
"Washu-chan, I'll go and get you some bowls, we've only just started" Sasami's every word and action radiated a warm welcome and Washu smiled uncertainly, "It's alright Sasami, I'll get them " and disappeared before Sasami could stand.  
  
They all waited silently for Washu to return and when she entered Nobuyuki could barely contain himself. "What happened to little Washu-chan ? you're all grown up" his eyes moved up and down her lithe form, he was obviously enjoying what he could see.  
  
Washu glanced at Ryoko and seemed almost to cringe at the unfriendly stare she saw there, then looked at Tenchi. Slowly, carefully, never taking her eyes off him, she spoke. "I think, I've outgrown the need for her". she spoke the words as though they had some hidden meaning, one that Sasami had no reference for.  
  
Sasami glanced around the table again. Ryoko's flat stare had been replaced with an expression of astonishment, which slowly became a small smile.  
  
Tenchi was smiling beatifically.  
  
He nodded slowly, without taking his eyes off her.  
  
"Congratulations, Washu-chan"  
  
Sasami wondered once gain what had happened to those three, but decided to let it lie, she would weasel it out of Tenchi or Ryoko sooner or later, she had a devastatingly cute face and knew how to use it.  
  
Washu's smile grew at Tenchi's words, she seemed at a loss. She then realized she was standing in the doorway dumbly with bowls and chopsticks in her hands. Haltingly, she sat down in the only available seat, next to Ryoko, who smiled awkwardly.  
  
They all ate in silence for a time, Tenchi was staring down at his plate when a voice made him look up.  
  
"Oh Teeenchi"  
  
'uh-oh' he thought.  
  
"Have some of this sake with me, say you will pleaaase" Ryoko had produced a bottle of sake out of nowhere and was leaning across the table filling up his cup, fluttering her eyelashes at him coquettishly.  
  
Unfortunately for Ayeka, who sat on her left. Ryoko had not taken a great deal of care when leaning over the table.  
  
"AIIIIEEEE DEMON HOW DARE YOU ?!" Ayeka was screeching, Tenchi would have covered his ears, but decided instead to maintain an outward mask of masculine infallibility.  
  
"What's the matter ? I think you look great in that shade of soy sauce, Princess Prissy Pants" was the response.  
  
And so the argument began, winding down as they all did, towards the inevitable violence and property damage, Tenchi was surprised to find that he did not mind it so much anymore.  
  
He looked over at Sasami who was fighting to hold back a grin, He began to chuckle, soon he was joined by her giggling, finally they both erupted into full-blown screams of laughter amid shocked looks from the rest.  
  
Sasami was glad, her family was back to normal.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Story Notes: Well, I didn't treat our Washu-chan too well now did I ? but I found her story interesting enough to explore, and I hoped you enjoyed reading it.  
  
My initial Idea for this was to focus far more on Washu's past, and have her come to terms with it, but gradually Ryoko forced her way in, I found it very difficult to write any resolution that did not involve her in some integral way.  
  
The Ending: Some might see it as a bit of a cop out, but this was how I planned it, I never really had any intention of completing this story with Washu and Ryoko living happily as Mother and Daughter, for one, I doubt whether I could complete it satisfactorily in my own mind. Plus, who am I to complete the Tenchi reality ? I am but a lowly fanfiction writer :)  
  
Characterizations: I know some people will have some problems with the way I had Tenchi act in this, the final Chapter. Tenchi has always been interesting for me, In almost all of the shows, he acts flabbergasted, embarrassed, or just plain dopey, though we see occasional flashes of determination and insight throughout the OVA. I don't think we can ever get a complete picture of who Tenchi is, with the girls at his house 24 hrs a day he is constantly being exposed to extra-ordinary events, *bang**bang**bang* one after the other, he has little time for contemplation, which probably drives him somewhat mad :)  
  
My reading of him is of an Intelligent young man, thrown completely out of his depth with the arrival of the girls, but he struggles along, trying to treat them the best way that he can.  
  
My version of Washu is somewhat self explanatory, I welcome your thoughts on her, as I admit in this story she may seem overly weepy but justifiably so I hope.  
  
I'd like to read you comments and critiques of this as a complete story, it would give me a good idea of when and where I went wrong for future pieces :) 


End file.
